The breeder, Blue

Jubilife City, Eastern Suburbs.

While Li Wei was having a heart-to-heart with Feebas,

a Charizard sped through the sky.

A handsome young man with straight brown hair, a pendant around his neck, and a confident smile arrived.

"Thanks, Charizard."

The handsome young man recalled the Charizard that had flown him here into its ball.

"Wait, are you Champion Blue?"

A woman's voice caught Blue's attention.

Seeing Belle watering the plants with Growlithe beside her,

Blue nodded slightly. "I am Blue, but I'm not the Champion anymore. I'm the Viridian Gym Leader now."

Now a young adult, Blue remained proud, but he was by no means arrogant.

Belle chuckled and waved a hand. "That's fine. Having been one is enough."

Belle had also heard the rumors about his record-breakingly short reign as Champion.

"I'm a big fan. Could I trouble you for an autograph?"

Blue signed for her and remarked casually, "No problem. Your Growlithe has good potential."

Belle covered her mouth with a chuckle. "Really? Arcanine said so too."

"Arcanine?"

Blue was a little puzzled.

Could she have the viridian force too?

Surely it wasn't that common?

Belle pointed toward the breeding center.

"The Arcanine belonging to Li Wei, the breeding center owner's son. Arcanine comes by every afternoon to teach little Growlithe moves."

At that, Belle asked curiously, "By the way, what brings you to Jubilife City all of a sudden?"

With one hand on his hip, Blue's lips curved slightly. "I'm here to see him."

"Oh? Sounds like it could be interesting."

Blue shook his head. "Someone asked me to come. I'll have to meet him to know whether it'll be interesting."

"I think it will be."

Blue ran his right hand through his long hair and smiled. "Now you've got me a little interested. I'm off."

"Take care."

Blue merely waved.

The breeding center's reputation was growing, and people often came all the way from downtown or other cities just to visit.

Even though it was not yet nine in the morning, there were still people on the path.

"Look, isn't that Blue?"

"I'm not sure..."

"I think it is! But isn't he from the Kanto Region? What's he doing here...?"

The chatter around him grew louder, especially after Blue entered the breeding center.

Blue paid no attention to the voices around him, focusing instead on inspecting the entire breeding center and observing how the Pokémon lived here.

In the distance, Dayou was feeding the Pokémon with Incineroar, while Luo Ye checked the berries' growth with a notebook in hand, occasionally jotting things down.

Mizuki was leading a few new staff members in washing the Miltank.

What caught Blue's attention most were the Lucario, Arcanine, and silver Metagross that were training.

"A Shiny Metagross, reading a book?!"

Blue could not help raising his eyebrows.

Although Blue often had Pokémon train on their own,

having a Pokémon read books on its own was an unusual trick he rarely saw.

Through the discerning eyes of Blue, whom Professor Oak had dubbed "the breeder,"

Lucario, Arcanine, and the silver Metagross all had excellent potential and had been raised very well.

Blue himself had an Arcanine, and he had also seen Crystal's Arcanine bounding around.

From a breeding standpoint, there was nothing wrong with Li Wei's Arcanine.

Judging by what he had seen so far, Blue was fairly satisfied with the breeding center.

Li Wei had not noticed Blue's arrival.

He was using high-quality Pokéblocks to lure Feebas out.

Feebas was still hesitating, but Li Wei could already see its eyes.

"What are you doing?"

Li Wei looked up toward the voice.

"Blue?!"

Looking at the handsome young man before him, Li Wei was momentarily dumbfounded.

How had Blue suddenly dropped in?!

"Blue?!"

Leon, who happened to be passing by with a scallion pancake in hand, let out a shriek.

A scallion-pancake-flavored shriek, at that.

"Blue!!!"

This time, it was Dayou, sprinting over with Incineroar.

"You're my fan... Ah, no, I'm your fan!"

Three startled shrieks in a row

left even Blue a little at a loss.

"Get out of here!"

Wen Hui dragged the stunned Leon away.

Dayou also left for the time being.

Since Blue would be staying here for a few days, there was no need to rush.

"Mr. Lian invited me to coach you for seven days. You'd better be ready."

"?!"

Li Wei glanced at his phone. It was exactly nine.

It really was just as his grandfather had said.

Li Wei had never dreamed it would be Blue.

Blue and Professor Oak had been the first people he ruled out.

Did his grandfather really have that much pull?

Folding his arms, Blue asked again, "You still haven't answered me. What were you doing just now?"

"Chatting with the Feebas in the pond."

Li Wei's words caught Blue's attention, and he came over to the pond as well.

"About what?"

"A Trainer boarded this Feebas here... It has a particularly serious problem."

Following Li Wei's directions, Blue caught a glimpse of the Feebas hiding inside.

At their first meeting,

Li Wei and Blue skipped introductions and pleasantries and launched into a serious discussion about Feebas's problem.

"My guess is that humans hurt it before, but it refuses to communicate."

Blue rubbed his chin, his brows tightly furrowed. "How long has this been going on?"

"Almost ten days. For the first seven days, I only fed it. Now I'm trying to talk to it."

Blue nodded slightly. That was probably what he had just witnessed.

As it happened, Li Wei had a portion of blue Coconut Wood Berry Pokéblocks with him.

Blue picked one up. "High-quality Coconut Wood Berry Pokéblocks. It should like these."

"It does eat them, but it won't let people see it. Even Lucario couldn't communicate with it."

Blue's thoughts aligned remarkably well with Li Wei's. Both immediately felt that Diantha Viridian's ability was important.

However, Blue did not suggest seeking out Yellow.

If they truly ran out of options, it would not be too late to ask her.

They had not reached that point yet. Feebas was willing to eat.

Li Wei had been researching throughout this time, and he casually offered his thoughts.

"Another option is Ribombee. Unfortunately, it's a Pokémon from the Alola Region, so it's rarely seen here."

Blue regarded Li Wei with newfound respect and nodded in approval.

"Good. Leave the Pokéblocks here. Let's talk as we walk."

Li Wei took Blue on a tour of the entire breeding center.

Along the way, Blue heard the staff address Li Wei by all sorts of strange nicknames.

Their attention, however, remained entirely on how to solve Feebas's problem.

Blue asked, "Apart from talking to Feebas to help it open up, what other ideas do you have?"

"Whoever caused the problem has to help resolve it. First, we need to find out whether there's an issue with Feebas's Trainer."

Li Wei had thought of that long ago; he simply had not had time to act on it yet.

After leaving Feebas here, its Trainer had disappeared.

Not visiting was one thing. The real problem was the complete lack of contact.

Blue nodded. "That's a good suggestion. I can ask Officer Jenny to help investigate."